Friday Apple Rumors: Say Goodbye to the iPad 2?

by Christopher Freeburn | October 19, 2012 2:50 pm

Friday Apple Rumors: Say Goodbye to the iPad 2?

[1]Here are your Apple rumors[2] and AAPL news items for today:

Cutting Block: The expected launch of Apple‘s (NASDAQ:AAPL[3]) smaller-screen iPad next week could spell the end[4] of the iPad 2, AppleInsider notes. Rob Cihra, an analyst at Evercore Partners, says the iPad Mini will become the company’s lowest-priced iPad, eliminating the need for the $400 iPad 2. Cihra predicts that Apple will sell 7 million iPad Minis and 49 million iPhones during in the holiday shopping quarter and record revenue of $56.1 billion. For the September quarter, Cihra anticipates revenue of $36.5 billion, on sales of 17 million iPads, 27 million iPhones and 4.9 million Macs. Apple will report its September quarter results on Oct. 25.

Ten Days Later: Unnamed sources tell TechCrunch that the iPad Mini will hit store shelves[5] on Nov. 2, just over a week after it’s unveiled at a media event on Oct. 23. The release date means Apple is following the same launch schedule as the iPhone 5, which hit stores less than two weeks after being debuted by CEO Tim Cook at a September media event. Apple has neither confirmed nor denied the existence of the iPad Mini, but reports say mass production of the tablet began last month. The iPad Mini is expected to feature a 7.85-inch display with 1,024 x 768 pixel resolution, identical to that of the iPad 2. Reports from Asia suggest that Apple has ordered the production of up to 10 million iPad Minis in time for the holiday shopping season.

Earth Moving: Construction teams have commenced clearing and flattening land[6] in preparation to build Apple’s massive new data center in Prineville, Ore., Ars Technica notes. The new data center will feature two 338,000-square-foot buildings, eclipsing Apple’s 500,000-square-foot Maiden, N.C., center, which houses its iCloud data. Apple has said it plans to use renewable energy to power the new data center. Media sources estimate its final price at more than $1 billion.

For more about the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors[7] stories.